


Affection

by XaverianQueenChrissy



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 11:09:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13433472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XaverianQueenChrissy/pseuds/XaverianQueenChrissy
Summary: Iori and Riku's secret romance gets leaked to the public, causing a massive scandal. IDOLiSH7 now has to decide if they will confirm or deny the rumours, and ultimately decide their futures as idols.





	Affection

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this at 11pm and finished it at 4am. I wrote this 40% because the plot was stuck in my head for like a week, and 60% because the world needs more platonic tennriku bonding.

“The way you express affection will get you in big trouble some day.”  
That’s what Iori’s brother always told him, usually in reference to his cold, unconventional ways of showing others he cares for them. It was true that he was not good at expressing his feelings to others, and perhaps it makes him seem aloof to the fans. But trouble? He vehemently denied it. After all, those who he truly cares about already know about his quirky ways of showing affection.  
He never imagined it would come to this.

  
The boys were busy rehearsing the choreography for their newest song. Two years had passed like the blink of an eye, but the seven were just as enthusiastic as the day they debuted. Tamaki was leading the boys through a complex sequence of steps when the door to the practice room opened with a loud bang, startling everyone.  
“Ban-chaaaan,” Tamaki whined when he saw who interrupted them, “I was just getting in the groove with everyone.”  
Banri looked at Tamaki with an unusually sour expression, causing everyone to immediately be put on edge.  
“Everyone, I’m sorry to interrupt practice,” Tsumugi, standing beside him, announced, “but something very serious has happened.”  
“What happened?” Yamato asked.  
“Does it have something to do with TRIGGER?” Iori asked.  
“Did my father’s company do something?” Sogo asked, wringing his hands in worry.  
“Everyone to the meeting room. I will explain everything there,” Tsumugi continued, “you have fifteen minutes to cool down.”  
With that, the two left, closing the door.  
“Alright, you heard them,” Yamato instructed, “everyone do some stretches and drink lots of water.”  
Everyone complied without complaint.  
“It’s unusual for our practice to be interrupted,” Riku sighed, taking a long gulp of water, “do you think we’re in trouble.”  
“Who knows...hey, is that my water bottle?!” Iori exclaimed, snatching the bottle from him.  
“Yours was closer!” he whined.  
“Still, don’t use it so casually!”  
Riku and Iori had been dating for close to a year now, however their relationship has been a top secret between the two of them. They knew it was forbidden for two idols to be in love, much less two men in the same group, so they felt it was best if as little people knew as possible, to avoid any leaks going out to the media.  
Apparently that included using your own water bottle.  
Iori was particularly strict about keeping it a secret, while Riku felt they could be a little less careful around the other group members, as they were a big family at this point, and could be trusted with a secret this big.  
“Here,” Iori tossed Riku his own water bottle.  
“Thank you!” he wheezed, still slightly out of breath from the vigorous dancing.  
“Do you need you inhaler?”  
Riku shook his head, “I’ll be fine.”  
“You’ll need it,” Sogo warned, staring at his smartphone with wide eyes.  
“What’s up, Sou-chan?” Tamaki asked.  
“I think I know what the urgent meeting is about.”  
“What?” Nagi asked.  
Sogo never replied, turning of his phone before anyone could peek over his shoulder, “Iori, Riku, is there anything you’d like to tell us?”  
“No,” Iori bluntly stated.  
“I...uh...don’t think so,” Riku stammered, sweating bullets.  
“I see. Well, in that case, the meeting should go rather smoothly.”  
A chill went up Riku’s spine.  
“Well, fifteen minutes are up,” Yamato announced, “let’s get this over with and go for ramen for supper.”  
The seven members cheered, gathering their water bottles and their towels before heading back to the meeting room.

  
The seven sat anxiously across the sofa in the meeting room. Tsumugi and Banri were waiting with the whiteboard between them. Tsumugi was clutching what looked like a magazine tightly in her arms.  
“Well, what’s up? I’m hungry,” Tamaki whined.  
“Boys. I’m sure you know this, but the idol industry has a strict ban on romance,” Banri began, “your fans want you all to be loyal to only them, and when you commit to another person, they feel as though they have to compete for your affection. This can be fatal to an idol’s career.”  
“We already know this,” Mitsuki complained, “why are we being given this lesson now?”  
“Early this morning-”  
“Intimate pictures of Iori and Riku got out,” Sogo finished Tsumugi’s sentence, “I saw them on my social media feed during cool down.”  
“Ehhhhh????” The remaining four members cried in shock.  
Iori had a poker face on, though it was obvious his face was white as a sheet. Riku now understood why Sogo had told him to bring his inhaler, as he immediately started wheezing.  
“I-I-I-Intimate?! I’m a virgin!” Riku cried, going into a coughing fit.  
“Don’t announce that so casually!” Iori spat, going through his bag for his inhaler.  
“I figured something was going on between them, but to hear that kind of news…” Mitsuki gasped.  
“Love is in the air!” Nagi cooed, “isn’t it nice?”  
“Not at all! The media found out, idiot!” Yamato snapped.  
While everyone was trying to process the news, and Iori was helping Riku with his inhaler, Tsumugi placed the magazine she was holding onto the coffee table. Sure enough, on the front cover, was a picture of Iori pinning Riku to a tree in what looked like a secluded park, kissing his neck. “IDOLiSH7 ROMANCE? THE INTIMATE DETAILS OF IZUMI IORI AND NANASE RIKU’S FORBIDDEN LOVE” was the headline.  
“This was published this morning. We did our best to get the magazines pulled from the shelves, but by then it was already out on social media.”  
“How bad will this be for IDOLiSH7’s PR?” Iori asked.  
“Very bad, unfortunately,” Tsumugi sighed, “some fans have started burning their merchandise.”  
“There is a lot of homophobia in this industry,” Banri confessed, “if you two were seeing women it would be one thing, but-”  
“I get it,” Iori scowled, “it was Nanase’s fault for not being careful!”  
“Me?! Last I checked, you were the one kissing my neck!”  
“Boys!” Tsumugi cried, “we’re not blaming anyone, okay? This meeting is to figure out how to proceed from here, not to punish anyone.”  
Riku was fighting back tears, clutching onto his inhaler like a safety blanket. Iori’s face softened at his boyfriend’s distress, gently placing a hand around his waist.  
“The quickest and easiest thing to do would be to deny the rumours, and challenge the legitimacy of the photos,” Banri suggested, “but that would mean that you two will have to be even more careful about PDA, and if it happens again, it would be impossible to cover it up a second time. It would be best if you ended your relationship.”  
“Sounds good to me,” Iori immediately blurted out.  
“What?!” Riku cried.  
“He never said we had to break up! We just have to act more distant in public!”  
“What exactly does ‘ending a relationship’ mean to you?!”  
“That can’t be the only option, though,” Sogo blurted, eyebrows furrowed, “that seems cruel, I mean, to deny real feelings...”  
“I agree.”  
“Me too.”  
“Same.”  
“Well, the other option would be to confirm the rumours, and make IDOLiSH7 the first male idol groups with an openly gay member...and a couple, at that!” Banri continued, “it would be a very risky gamble, it could either work out in your favour, or it will cost you all your careers.”  
Tsumugi wrote CONFIRM OR DENY on the whiteboard.  
“Please take tonight to seriously think this over as a group. You should use the whiteboard to put together pros and cons. We will come back together in the morning.”  
“The faster we act, the better,” Banri added, “we’ll be off now, have a good night.”  
Nobody moved until after Banri and Tsumugi left, closing the door softly behind them.  
“Have a good night?! How?!” Riku cried in frustration.  
“Now now, let’s all go for ramen like I promised,” Yamato smiled softly, “some food will help us all think rationally, right?”  
“Fuck yeah, count me in!” Tamaki cried. Everyone else sat in stone silence.  
“Count me out,” Riku huffed, standing and making a beeline for his room, slamming the door shut.  
“Riku-kun isn’t taking this well at all,” Mitsuki murmured.  
“I’ll make him some warm milk and honey when we get home,” Iori reassured his brother, “he just needs time to process everything.”  
While they got ready to go out for ramen, Riku emerged from his room dressed in a heavy coat, with a scarf, hat, and sunglasses completely shielding his face.  
“Where are you going?” Iori asked.  
“Out.”  
“I’m coming too.”  
“Iori. Do NOT follow me.”  
Iori’s face contorted in a grimace. Usually the only time Riku is that firm about Iori not coming is when he’s going to see _him_.  
“Are you a masochist?”  
“Perhaps.”  
With that, he left the dorm.

* * *

  
Riku struggled to keep his breathing steady as he hurried through the streets of Tokyo. His career was officially in jeopardy, and he needed to console in someone who knew the idol industry better than him, someone who immersed himself completely into this terrifying world at the tender age of thirteen.  
The security guards standing by TRIGGER’s penthouse apartment were quick to approach Riku with his suspicious disguise.  
“What are you doing here?” one of them demanded.  
“Ahhh, it’s just me, Nanase Riku!” He quickly shed off his hat and glasses, “I just want to talk to my brother.”  
“Ah, Riku-kun! I didn’t notice you with the disguise!”  
“No worries,” he smiled, “do you know if he’s home?”  
“Kujo-san is home.”  
“Thank you very much.”  
Riku knocked on the front door. As expected, Tenn answered the door.  
“Tenn-nii…”  
Tenn gave his brother a calculating gaze, causing the other to shift nervously on the balls of his feet.  
“I was expecting you tonight. Come on in.”  
Riku quickly shed his coat and scarf, hanging them up neatly with his hat. His sunglasses were tucked into the front of his shirt.  
“Tenn-nii, I-”  
“So, you and brocon, huh?” he interrupted, holding up a copy of the same magazine that Tsumugi had at the meeting.  
“W-where did you get that?!”  
“Gaku picked it up this morning. It’s juicy gossip across Japan, you know.”  
Riku shyly scratched the back of his head, collapsing on the living room couch.  
“I guess I was naive and thought we were alone…”  
“It was incredibly stupid of you!” Tenn scolded, throwing the magazine on the coffee table with a loud bang, causing Riku to jump.  
“Jeez, Tenn, are you his brother, or his mother?” Ryuu teased from the kitchen, where he was busy making tea.  
“Tsunashi Ryuunosuke, you know how serious something like this is!” Tenn exclaimed, “he had the gall to come crying to me!”  
“I’m not looking for your sympathy, if I wanted that I would’ve gone to mom! I need to know what to do!” Riku exclaimed.  
Tenn sighed, composing himself. He walked over to the laptop sitting idly on the coffee table. He sat across from Riku, and began typing away.  
“Riku, I don’t think you understand the severity of the situation. I’ve heard reports of fans burning merchandise, and Iori fans are particularly upset. This will cause a huge smear on the whole group.”  
“I’m already aware of that!”  
“The situation is easily exploited, however, and it will only get worse. Reporters will do anything to further agitate the public and earn even more publicity. Many of them have already turned to photoshop to make explicit images. At least, I hope this is photoshop.”  
“What is?”  
Tenn paused, as if debating to show Riku what was on his laptop screen.  
“Riku, we’re fraternal twins, but I don’t think your body looks that different than mine.”  
He turned around the computer, and the blood drained from Riku’s face. There he was, photoshopped onto a naked body, his “chest” covered in bodily fluids.  
“Th-th-th-that’s not me!” Riku cried, his face turning bright red and his breathing became erratic. “I’m a virgin, Tenn-nii, I swear!”  
Tenn blushed at his brother’s confession, slamming the computer shut, “that’s not my point! And don’t tell me shit like that!”  
Riku burst into tears, sobbing and hiccuping.  
Tenn scoffed, “how many times do I have to tell you, you’re too fragile for this industry.”  
“Tenn, go easy on him,” Ryuu sighed, placing the tea on the coffee table beside the magazine. He picked up the magazine and bopped Tenn over the head with it before disappearing down the hall into his room.  
“I’m serious! You’re physically and emotionally unfit to be an idol. Think of all the fans you let down by exposing yourself as a gay man!”  
“I’m bisexual!”  
“Currently dating a man, whatever. Not only your fans, think about what mom and dad are going to think when they see that photoshopped crap! It’ll hurt them too!”  
“Since when did you care about mom and dad’s feelings?!” Riku cried angrily, causing Tenn to recoil in a combination of hurt and annoyance.  
“So what are you going to do? Tell me to quit being an idol again?” he sobbed, “because I won’t do it!”  
“Why are you so stubborn?!”  
While Tenn was beyond frustrated with the giant hole his brother dug himself into, he couldn’t stand to see him cry the way he was. So, once again he calmed himself down and approached his brother.  
“Crying will only set off an attack, you know,” he murmured, gently wiping his tears.  
“Do you think I want to be in this situation?” Riku replied, wheezing slightly, “I love my fans, with all my heart, but Iori filled in a hole that was left when…”  
He clamped his mouth shut, but Tenn could guess the scenario he was talking about, and averted his eyes in shame.  
“I guess, Iori makes me happier than I’ve ever felt before. I really, really love him Tenn-nii.”  
“But do you love him more than being an idol?” Tenn asked, “that’s what you have to ask yourself.”  
Riku nodded, rubbing his eyes.  
“Here,” Tenn handed him a tissue. Riku took it, blowing his nose.  
“Tenn-nii?”  
“Hm?”  
“Remember when I was sick, and you used to let me lie on your stomach?”  
“What about it?”  
“...” Riku blushed slightly, looking away.  
Tenn huffed, “get up.”  
Riku complied, and Tenn laid down on the couch, allowing Riku to lay on top of him with his head on his stomach.  
“Ahhh, it’s just as soft as when we were kids.”  
“Don’t make any unnecessary comments right now.”  
Riku laughed shakily, “I missed you, Tenn-nii. When you were gone, you know. I cried a lot, but I didn’t have Tenn-nii’s stomach to lay on.”  
Tenn gently ran his hands through his hair, “no matter how stupid you are, I owe this much to you.”  
Riku hummed gently.  
“You know, Riku. I have a lover.”  
“I know, Tenn-nii, you always say your fans are your lovers.”  
Tenn laughed, “no, I mean I have a boyfriend.”  
“Eh?”  
“The love ban is basic knowledge for an idol, but you would be surprised how many idols are in secret romances right now. Only an amateur would be stupid enough to get caught.”  
“Gggh?!”  
“It’s true. You’ve only been in the business for two years. It’s understandable that you fell in love, you are twenty years old, but you’re too naive when it comes to the consequences of romances getting leaked.”  
“I was careful at first,” Riku admitted, “reeeally careful. Not even Iori’s brother or the other members had any idea! But we got less cautious as time went on...I guess we felt safe.”  
“How long have you been together?”  
“Almost a year.”  
“I figured you’d be caught within a month.”  
“Tenn-nii, you really are mean sometimes.”  
Tenn laughed.  
“What about you?” Riku asked, “how long have you had a lover?”  
“Mmmm...Gaku!” he shouted.  
“Hm?” Gaku asked, appearing in the doorway shortly after.  
“How long have we been together?”  
“Eh? Yaotome Gaku?!” Riku yelped in surprise.  
“You really don’t remember?” Gaku scoffed at Tenn.  
“I don’t pay attention to that crap.”  
“19 months, two weeks, four days, you brat,” he replied, “oh? Is that Nanase-kun?”  
“Sorry for intruding,” Riku answered.  
“No worries, I hope Tenn wasn’t too harsh on you. I heard the shouting, you know.”  
“No different than usual.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tenn muttered.  
“You know exactly what it means,” Gaku scolded, trying to hide the soft smile that threatened to come out from seeing the brothers cuddled up on the couch.  
“Yaotome-san...” Riku asked.  
“Hm?”  
“W-what do you think I should do? About Iori and I, that is.”  
“That’s a decision you need to make with your group. Every idol group is different in their own way, but be prepared for the worst. I’m sure Tenn already told you, fans like to think they have a chance with their favourite idols; if you were in a relationship, it takes that sense of intimacy away from them.”  
“I know.”  
“You and Iori have a lot of chemistry on stage, it’s no surprise to me that you two are a couple. Try not to let this situation fizzle that out, no matter what happens. That’s one of IDOLiSH7’s greatest strengths, you know.”  
Riku smiled, “thank you.”  
“You’re too easy on him, Gaku,” Tenn complained, still running his fingers through his brother’s fiery red hair.  
“You’re too tough on him. I think it evens out.”  
Riku only smiled, happily burying his face in his brother’s abdomen.

* * *

  
Meanwhile, back at the dorms, the remaining six were gathered in the meeting room after supper. All of them were staring at the whiteboard intensely, especially Iori, who would be one of the members the most affected by their decision.  
“Did Riku-kun not leave his room yet?” Sogo asked.  
“Nah, when you all were getting ready, he snuck out,” Iori scoffed.  
“Eh?!” Mitsuki cried, “where did he go?! He could be hurt!”  
“He’s fine, he’s probably with _Tenn-nii_!” Iori replied in his best impression of Riku’s excited voice, with a bite of sarcasm to it.  
Yamato laughed, “you really don’t like Kujo Tenn, do you?”  
“Christmas dinner will be fun with them,” Mitsuki winced, not looking forward to the family spats between the elder twin and the youngest Izumi.  
A thick tension filled the air as Iori scowled over Riku’s decision to run to his cold blooded twin for comfort instead of him.  
“So...what are we going to do?” Yamato asked first.  
“I’ve already made up my mind,” Mitsuki announced, “I’m going to support Iori and Riku-kun no matter what, even if it means I give up being an idol!”  
“Nii-san…”  
“I agree,” Sogo added with a soft smile.  
“Yep,” Tamaki agreed.  
“I could never get in the way of true love!” Nagi cooed happily.  
“I think most of us are on the same page, then,” Yamato laughed.  
“But...we caused so much trouble for you all,” Iori murmured.  
“You and Riku-kun are our most valuable members,” Sogo reassured him, “besides, we’re all a family now, aren’t we? We protect each other no matter what.”  
With that, Mitsuki stood with his orange marker firmly in his grasp, walked over the the whiteboard, and circled his answer.  
One by one, the other members stood and did the same, leaving Iori speechless. They all knew the correct decision from a business standpoint would be to deny everything, and yet they all chose what felt best from their hearts. He felt beyond blessed.  
“Iori, it’s your turn!” Yamato announced.  
Gripping the black marker, he smiled and rose from his seat.  
Riku returned to the dorms late, after dozing off in Tenn’s lap and getting roped into having soba with the rest of TRIGGER once he awoke. He made a mental note to repay them with omurice another day; he had his mother’s secret recipe, which would surely please Tenn. There was nothing better than the Nanase family omurice recipe, after all.  
“I’m home,” he announced, kicking off his shoes by the door.  
“Welcome home,” Iori smiled. He was standing alone in the entryway, holding a bouquet of roses.  
“Iori..wha-”  
“These are for you,” he smiled, handing him the bouquet and gently kissing his cheek.  
“What’s going on? I thought-”  
“Everyone’s waiting for you in the meeting room. We already made up our mind.”  
“Without me?!” Riku cried in annoyance.  
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have run away on us.”  
Riku scowled at Iori’s bluntness, but he knew there was a worried undertone to his blank expression.  
The two headed to the meeting room, where Riku braced himself for the worst. Instead, he was surprised to see everyone standing in front of the white board, smiling at him.  
“Welcome home,” Sogo smiled.  
“I hope you don’t mind, but we all came to an agreement pretty quickly without you.”  
When they moved aside so Riku could see the whiteboard, tears immediately filled his eyes when he saw six different coloured circles around CONFIRM, along with several multicoloured messages of love and support scribbled across the board by the other six members; plus a light blue drawing of two king puddings holding hands.  
“You guys…”  
“We love you, Riku,” Nagi murmured, “Iori, too. We approve of your love.”  
“This is too much…this could cost IDOLiSH7 a lot of potential shows…”  
“So be it,” Tamaki reassured him, “I’ll beat the crap out of any homophobes that get in our way.”  
“Maybe don’t physically assault anyone, we don’t need you getting caught in a scandal too,” Sogo scolded.  
“I don’t care, Sou-chan! I haaate them all.”  
“Thank you, Yotsuba-san,” Iori smiled, cradling his overwhelmed boyfriend while trying not to crush the flowers in his arms, “but we can handle ourselves just fine.”  
“I love you all…” Riku hiccuped softly into Iori’s chest.  
“We’ll certainly have a challenge on our hands,” Yamato stated bluntly, “this sort of thing is seen as taboo in the entertainment world. But, no matter what happens, the seven of us will support each other.”  
Everyone cheered happily.  
“Alright, to celebrate I say we watch the Magical Kokona box set!” Nagi cheered.  
“We just did that last week,” Mitsuki half heartedly complained.  
“Here, I picked this up last night,” Yamato announced, holding up a six pack of beer he had stashed in the beer fridge behind the couch, “one for each of us. Except Tama because he’s still underage.”  
The youngest group member pouted, “what about Iorin?”  
“My birthday was last week, did you really forget already?” Iori huffed.  
Everyone laughed.  
“Beer and Kokona, sounds good to me,” Riku smiled, “especially if I’m with everyone!”

* * *

  
When Tsumugi and Banri entered the meeting room early the next morning, they were hardly surprised at what they saw, and had to hold back their giggles at the sight.  
The boys had decided to camp out in the meeting room, with Kokona DVDs and beer cans spread out on the floor around the boys’ sleeping bodies, in sharp contrast to the colourful whiteboard at the front of the room, pushed aside to make room for the TV.  
While everyone was relatively spread out, Riku and Iori was curled up together. Riku sighed happily in his sleep, snuggling closer to his boyfriend’s chest.  
“Is it strange that this is what I had been hoping for?” Tsumugi whispered, nodding to the whiteboard.  
Banri laughed softly, “if anyone can pull it off, though, it’s them. Now let’s let them sleep, while we tell the president the news.”  
They softly closed the door, allowing the boys to sleep in a little longer.


End file.
